This invention relates to solar heaters and to a solar heating system incorporating such heaters.
Solar heaters and heating systems incorporating the same are well known and comprise generally a solar heat collector which absorbs heat energy from the sun and transfers it, by way of a heat exchanger, into a building fluid heating system and/or heat storage unit. The heat energy transfer in some systems is in the form of sensible heat while others utilize the heat pump principle. In a system disclosed in Snelling U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,672 issued July 2, 1968, there is utilized an evacuated hermetically sealed circulating system containing a heat exchange fluid adapted to boil over a range of temperatures as long as there is a temperature difference between the temperature at the collector and the temperature at the heat exchange unit. Heat transfer in such systems relies on sensible heat as well as the latent heat of vaporization. A reference of interest with respect to the present invention is U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,957 issued Mar. 28, 1978 to C. J. Bennett.
In the present system the solar heater is a boiling-condensing type and one principal object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of heat transfer from the solar collector to the fluid utilized in the building heating system.
A further principal object of the present invention is to provide a solar heater of novel construction facilitating and simplifying installation of the same in a building.
A further principal object of the present invention is to provide a solar heater constructed in such manner that its position may be readily varied to obtain maximum effect from the solar rays.
One of the problems associated with any condenser in a fluid system is the accumulation of deposits on the condenser unit which, over a period of time, gradually reduces the efficiency of heat transfer.
It is a further principal object of the present invention to provide a solar heater constructed in such a manner that the boiling fluid from the collector causes a scrubbing type cleaning action in the condenser.